History-making Bradl returns home to Germany

He strives for a maiden podium in the premier class, not least after his first front row start last time out at Assen. Even so, Stefan Bradl is already re-writing the history books when it comes to Germans competing in MotoGP™.

Bradl made his MotoGP™ debut in 2012, having beaten Marc Marquez to the Moto2™ crown a year earlier. He is now raising the bar when it comes to what Germans have achieved on two wheels in the upper tier of the sport.

Here are a few of the facts supporting the 23-year-old:

- His fourth place finish of Mugello 2012 was the best for a German since 1989, when Michael Rudroff finished on the podium – coincidentally, also at Mugello; however, leading riders had boycotted the race for safety reasons. On the other hand, the last time a German had finished inside the top five of a non-boycotted race was back in 1974, when Dieter Braun came home behind Phil Read and Giacomo Agostini at Spa

- Bradl collected 135 points in his debut premier class season of 2012 – the highest amount of points for any German in their rookie year

- The eighth place championship finish Bradl managed last season was the best for a German since 1974, when Dieter Braun ended the campaign seventh overall

- Bradl’s front-row start at the 2013 Dutch TT was the first ever top three grid slot for a German; the previous best was fourth, achieved by Ralf Waldmann at Brno in 1998 – at the time, the top four riders shared the front row of the starting grid

Heading to his home Grand Prix at the Sachsenring this weekend, Bradl lies seventh in the standings and is only 14 points behind Ducati Team’s Andrea Dovizioso.